8.16.2005

Welcome to the Great White North

When I heard that Sam Cassell had been traded from my Wolves to The Clips for Marko Jaric, my initial thoughts on this trade were--in response to Shoals' Hunter/Philly post--TEAM OF WHITE FAN FAVORITES? Although Hoiberg is now certainly out for the year with a heart condition (by the way, why are heart conditions like the new plantar fascitis? No one gets them for like 10 years and then suddenly theres a rash of them...Curry, Turiaf, Hoiberg...,WATCH OUT JAHIDI WHITE...this is somewhat similar to how sharp comebackers have been sidelining MLB pitchers quite a bit this season, when last year it was a whole bunch of guys fouling balls off their shins, but I digress...), a given 5-man lineup (YES I AM REPOSTING THIS) could have looked like:1 - Jaric2 - Hoiberg3 - Wally World4 - Skita5 - Madsen

And when your only notable season ticket holder is this guy,

you are talking about putting WHITE fans in WHITE seats. This is the same fanbase who blames Sam and Spree single(double?)handedly for last years misadventure. Me personally? I blame Troy Hudson's inability to penetrate and Flip's rotations. Shoals, more potently, offered this lineup:

PG: jaricSG: mccantsSF: troubled griffinPF: KGC: Kandiman

Now, reality aside (by the end of the season, Griffin will be starting C with Wally at SF), this lineup made me wonder if the Wolves have gone from contender to the purgatorial status of Freedarko cult classic (see Bulls, Wiz, 05-06 Warriors, etc.). They are all style, all risks, all caricature (NOT "character"). Currently, the headcase count is at 3 (Griff, Kandi, McCants), the Euro count is at three (Skita, Jaric, Ebi--INCLUDED), and the goofy white guy count is at FOUR (Skita, Madsen, Jaric, Wally). Aside from Trenton Hassell, my rock and my redeemer, WHO DOES KG HANG OUT WITH on this team? I mean, isnt this the type of situation that gets stars groaning?

So where does this leave the Timberwolves? Better, I think. I love Jaric's game. And he is perfect in the Ridnour/Daniels type system that new coach Dwane Casey is bringing. Jaric can penetrate and dish with the best of them, and when he doesnt have to create his own shot (see, NEVER in the past with the Clippers), he can knock it down. If the guy can stay healthy, he's good for 10, 6, and 1.5 steals a night.

Completely disregarded by the pundits at large (except for one anonymous commentor on our own site), is that this trade has now FULLY (I say fully because they were on their way) CATAPULTED the Clips into Freedarko cult classic status. A Mobley-Cassell backcourt? Are you kidding me? You want to talk about style? You want to talk about mean? You want to talk about poisoning the mind of another young 6-7 point guard who may become the closest thing to Magic since the days of showtime?

"Yo Cat...can you hear me? Some day...you and me...we're gonna run this league."

13 Comments:

this is an outstanding post that for me raises two absolutely pressing questions.

1. when i wrote "team of black fan favorites," i was operating under the assumption that the standard fan favorite is white, or plays with the hustle and determination that have come to characterize the white man in this fondest of sports. i am not entirely sure what "black fan favorite" would mean; for some reason, eddie house, miles and Q, and stromile swift come to mind. confusing and obliquely talented without actually mattering enough or doing so much harm that they could be frustrating. that just sounds like a watered-down version of the kind of players i like, who are the more boom-or-bust version of this.

but would a "white fan favorite" be a fan favorite that was especially white? like they put an especially white spin on "white" game, rather than just playing a "white man's" game?

2. how are jaric and skita both euros and goofy white guys? does this have to be decided on a case-by-case basis? do we need to convene a committee?

i wrote a long thing about what kind of fan favorite iverson was, but it was ridiculously bloated and distracted from my post-related questions. suffice to say that he appeals to fans as both an emotionally accessible hard worker and a quirky stylist that doesn't get in the way of winning.

first of all, shane. you been out of mn for too long. jimmy jam moved to cali. kg's wife has his seats now.

second of all, jaric is a pimp...and the only white guy in the entire ASSOCIATION who is not goofy is the aforementioned fred hoiberg. i seriously was racking my brain trying to think of anyone who would make the "white" and "goofy" tags mutually exclusive. hoiberg is it. if the pistons had a white player, he would also qualify.

Is Wally really goofy in the Madsen sense? I went college with him and he always struck me as a kinda cool player from the Dan Majerle mold.

I am bummed for Hoidberg, he got a tough break. I agree that he isn't goofy, he does the Nebraska thing in style. What about the older incaranations of Christian Laettner and Brent Barry? They seem pretty cool. Though he hasn't played much Ladies Love Luke Jackson.

I saw both of them around a lot as she lived in the same apartment complex as I did. She's a big fine Amazonian.

I played pick up against Wally, he was cool. He'd just set up the other guys he was running with. He could have made a lot of guys look bad. He was a lot bulkier in college, he had to lose a lot of muscle to be fast enough to hang in the NBA.